


Beef Satay Salad

by Airuna



Series: Shadowhunters Oneshots [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec is a great boyfriend, Attempt at Humor, Attempt at cooking, Between Seasons 2 and 3, Cooking, Fix-It, Fluff, Gen, Lightwoods are terrible cooks, M/M, POV Third Person, Raphael POV, Raphael is a great cook, Raphael reluctantly has feelings, Reluctant Bonding, and Alec kind of owes him an appology, because it has such a potencial, but only the part about the Raphael & Alec brOTP, but that's not really relevant - Freeform, even if that won't ever be on the show, fear not, kind of, oh it's canon verse, they both adore Magnus, though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 12:12:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14056749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Airuna/pseuds/Airuna
Summary: Raphael just needed some information from Magnus, so why on earth was he cooking dinner with the Head of the New York Institute?orRaphael and his (future) step father bond.





	Beef Satay Salad

**Author's Note:**

> So I guess you've already noticed that I love character and relationship oriented fics where the plot just kind of happens. Here's one about Raphael and his relationship with Alec. And the appology that should be on the show but won't be. (No I'm not still bitter about that, what are you talking about?). I am not from Indonesia, nor have I ever been. I have also never cooked and Indonesian dish in my life. Then again, neither have Alec who, like myself all he has done is a quick google search. So I hope you can forgive any mistakes be both made regarding the dish. Also I started writing this before the season 3 premiere so please ignore the fact that Simon was probably not long enough on the Seelie realm for Raphael to worry, that Alec is not in Idris and that Magnus is still the (rightful) High Warlock. This fic has been beta'd by Alecisgay to whom I am forever in debt.

Whoever said that no news was good news clearly didn’t know Simon Lewis. Things had been really quiet since Valentine’s long awaited demise. Too quiet. Which meant either the fledgling had learned discretion and was sensibly hiding until the heat of the Daylighter reveal died out or that something big, terrible and probably deathly was about to happen. And Raphael was more willing to believe in Shadowhunters as a whole suddenly developing a conscience than in Simon acquiring even a hint of common sense. 

So, his only choice was to head over to Brooklyn. Magnus had been saying he was due to visit him anyway.

He knocked on the door entirely out of politeness. If the wards had allowed him in until that point, the door would not be locked for him. Still, Raphael shuddered to think what his mama would have said if he just barged in, into someone else’s house, to ask for help. From inside he heard some cursing and steps coming towards the door. Magnus’ stubbornness on sliding ‘gracefully’ around instead of moving like a normal person made his steps almost soundless. The ones that Raphael were hearing were quick, efficient and resolute. The steps of a soldier. 

Shit.

He vaguely considered making a hasty retreat but, really, he was the leader of the New York Clan and an old friend of Magnus’, he had every right to be here. And if the Nephilim didn’t like it, too bad. 

He squared his shoulders.

Alec opened the door, looking disheveled and already annoyed which was just great. When he saw Raphael he straightened up, his scowl falling from his face that turned into what he probably thought was a blank expression. “Is Magnus home?” asked Raphael before Alec could open his mouth. Better get this done as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Alec shook his head and Raphael sighed, he had imagined as much. He was about to say his goodbyes (again, his mama had raised him to be civilised) when Lightwood actually stepped aside and opened the door for him. Raphael’s eyebrows shoot up. “He is supposed to return in an hour,” Alec explained. “But he did say that he’d try to be home sooner if possible.”

And this was just awkward. They stood there, in the middle of the room, looking at each other. Alec’s hands were behind his back, his legs slightly parted and looked as much at a loss as to what to do as Raphael felt. He brushed imaginary dust off his jacket but refused to talk. He was not going to initiate small talk. Not in this life and not with the oldest Lightwood, dammit.

“So I owe you an apology.” Alec was looking straight at him and his voice didn’t waver, which made Raphael choking on his own spit that much more embarrassing. But really, since when did Shadowhunters even comprehend the concept of apologies? Much less deigned to offer one to filthy, inferior downworlders.

And besides that…

“No, you don’t.”

“Izzy explained to me what had happened,” Alec proceeded stubbornly ignoring what he had just told him. “You were not more guilty than she was.”

“I enabled her addiction when I should have known better,” Raphael pointed out, wincing at the self-hatred that he could hear in his usually blank voice.

“And she forced yours on you,” Alec said tersely. “I should not have punched you, not without having the full story.” He frowned at his own words. “No, I should not have punched you at all. I had no right to storm into your home and assault you. Specially given my race and rank.”

“Because you are too good for that?” mocked Raphael.

“Because my people have a tendency of abusing and harming yours and no one holds them accountable. Because if you had wanted to complain about it, you would have had to go to the man that tortured you and barring him, me or my siblings. Because it was simply wrong.” And yeah, Magnus may have been onto something when he had supported this Nephilim. He was prejudiced, clearly, and made his fair share of mistakes. But he seemed to understand he was privileged, even if he still couldn’t completely grasp how or how much, and he was willing to point out his own mistakes and apologize for them. That was something he hadn’t seen on a Shadowhunter before.

“I accept your apology.” Alec nodded, seemingly relieved and Raphael allowed himself to relax a bit. Neither moved or said anything for a minute and the tense, awkward silence fell over them again. So Raphael was more grateful than worried when his nose gave him an out. “Is something burning?”

“Shit!” Alec scrambled towards the kitchen and Raphael followed him because really, what was he to do? “Oh shit, shit, fuck.” Well, clearly Maryse and Robert Lightwood didn’t share the same values as Guadalupe Santiago. The mouth of this kid, for God sake!

Raphael watched amused as Alec scrapped some black, unidentifiable substance out of the pan and into the trash can. “May I ask why you’re trying to destroy Magnus’ kitchen?”

Alec turned towards him and if he had been someone else Raphael would have classified his expression as a pout. “I was trying to make a Beef Satay Salat.”

“But you’re a Lightwood,” Raphael reasonably pointed out. “Lightwoods can’t cook.” Isabelle had explained that to him and she had been proved right when he had foolishly insisted she helped him anyway.

“I thought I could handle a salad!” exclaimed Alec frowning to hide his embarrassed blush.

“One where you had to make your own sauce?” Raphael raised an incredulous eyebrow.

“There’s a recipe. I’m trained to follow orders. Why did this burn so fast? I don’t understand.” The sheer frustration in Alec’s voice made Raphael stifle his laugh.

“Well for starters the fire is way too hot,” he pointed at the stove that was still on.

“I assumed this would make it go faster?” Alec’s voice was a strange mix of sheepishness and stubbornness and Raphael was surprised at finding himself being reminded of Rosa.

“Just get out of the way,” he sighed. He could not, in good conscience, let him waste more food on his experiments. And Magnus deserved better than to arrive home to the smell of smoke. “Where’s the recipe?” Alec wordlessly handed him a tablet. “Why are you using a pan? It says to use a wok.”

“Is it not the same thing?” And Raphael had to suppress the urge of hitting his head against the wall. He did not stop his eyes from rolling.

“Why don’t you let me handle the sauce and beef and you cut the ingredients.” He could probably manage that, couldn’t he? He was used to sharp objects.

“Thanks,” Alec seemed confused by his actions but too grateful to dare question them.

They worked a while in comfortable silence and Raphael found himself remembering the last time he had cooked with a Lightwood. “That’s an Indonesian plate, isn’t it?” he asked to distract himself.

“Yeah,” Alec nodded, his eyes staying on the tomato he was cutting. “Magnus mentioned the other day that the thing he missed most from there was the food so I thought I’d surprise him.” His eyes lit up when he talked about his boyfriend and he smiled, clearly proud of himself.

Raphael had to stop himself from returning the smile. “And why this recipe?” With one look he confirmed that there were at least seven tabs open on the tablet about Indonesian food.

“I wanted something easy and that could remind him of a steak.” He shrugged his shoulders. Raphael looked down at the recipe. Well it had beef, a different cut and cooked different than a steak but it was still beef after all. The memory of Magnus’ remedy for exhaustion stopped him on making a dry remark about it.

They kept working in silence but this time it was comfortable. Which probably only made this situation weirder. The leader of the New York Clan and the Head of the Institute cooking dinner in the High Warlock’s kitchen while he was away. Really, the situation was ridiculous. Almost as much as the Shadowhunter himself who seemed anxious when he presented Raphael with the (thankfully) neatly cut vegetable.

“Good job.” Raphael said attempting to sound condescending. The beaming smile Alec sent him told him he had not succeeded. And the vampire found himself smiling too. Not in answer of course. It was just really funny that a Shadowhunter that had banished Azazel with a single arrow would look so proud of having succeeded at something most mundanes managed in their teens. That was all.

“Do you need any help with this?” 

Raphael’s amusement turned into terror and discreetly pulled the wok further away from Alec. “No, I got this. Go set the table or something.” He shooed Alec away from his creation. He was not going to let him ruin it. Not when it smelled so good. Maybe Rosa would appreciate it if he made it for her? She had never been one to try foreign food but if she didn’t do it now… And really, she still had the most beautiful smile when she discovered new things to enjoy. Yeah, Raphael nodded to himself before sending the recipe to his email, it would be nice to try something new.

“It’s all done.” Why Alec had the need to inform him of that was beyond him so he just nodded. The Shadowhunter stood beneath the doorframe of the kitchen in that soldier pose of his and to Raphael’s surprise he actually looked nervous. “Izzy always praises your fashion sense,” he told him out of the blue and Raphael found himself smiling a bit. That was nice to hear. “Magnus does it too.”

And oh no. “Please do not tell me you want me to pick your outfit.” This day could not get this bizarre. Really Raphael had been less wrong-footed when he had found out vampires existed.

“Of course not.” Thank God for small mercies. “But I did buy a new shirt and I wouldn’t mind getting your opinion on it.” And yes, there was no mistaking it, that was a blush on Alec’s cheeks.

So apparently he had hoped up to another dimension. It happened more often than one would think. But okay, he just had to roll with it. “I’m not known to bite my tongue, Shadowhunter,” he warned. Magnus would get mad at him if he upset his Shadowhunter.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m asking.”

And with that he was gone. Raphael turned his attention towards the meal, realizing with a smile that it was done. He meticulously plated it (after all, presentation was fifty percent of the experience!) and he took it out to the table. There were candles in the middle of it. Placed on an opulent candelabrum. Really, he would have expected this from Magnus but not from the Shadowhunter. Apparently love made a fool out of even the most stoic ones.

“Magnus likes candles,” a defensive voice came from behind him and Raphael realized he had to do a better job of scolding his expressions. 

“You don’t say,” Raphael said as dryly as he could manage. He turned around to look at the Shadowhunter. “Is that color?” he asked, incredulously looking at his new shirt.

“I’ve worn color before,” Alec protested and Raphael could almost believe that. If by color he meant greys or dark greens that’s it. But a patterned purple shirt was something definitely new for him if the way the Shadowhunter was awkwardly standing was anything to go by. “It’s not too over the top, is it?”

Raphael snorted. “You’ve met Magnus, haven’t you?”

At that Alec chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right.”

They shared an amused look and God, were they bonding? Yeah, Raphael had been there for way too long. He could come back tomorrow, Simon would probably survive a night without supervision. Maybe. “I should get going, Magnus won’t appreciate me interrupting your anniversary.”

The Shadowhunter looked at him confusion written on his face. “Our anniversary? It’s not our anniversary.”

Raphael gestured around to the table then to Alec’s clothes. “Then what is all this?” 

“He had a very busy day, I just thought he’d appreciate coming home to something nice.” Surprisingly Alec’s voice was not shy or proud, it was just factual. Like it was the truth and he saw no reason to hide it.

Raphael could not stop a smile from forming on his lips. “That’s good.” At Alec’s raised eyebrows he elaborated, “Magnus is always taking care of the world, it was about time he let someone take care of him.”

The Shadowhunter nodded. “He is way too kind and patient with everyone.” And Raphael could relate to the mixed awe and exasperation in his voice. His smile widened which seemed to break the guy out of the dazed expression Magnus’ mention had thrown him into. “But anyway, you sure you want to leave without whatever it was you needed him for?” he said trying to change the topic of conversation.

“It’s nothing urgent,” Raphael shrugged. “I just haven’t heard of Simon in a while and I shudder to think what he may be getting into.”

Alec nodded sympathetically. “If it helps, he hasn’t been hanging out much with Clary so any world destructive matters are probably out.” And yeah, Raphael did not envy him the responsibility to keep Clary and Jace in line. “He’s dating Maia so maybe Luke knows something.”

“Right,” he nodded. “I’ll go ask him then.” To his surprise, Alec walked him to the door, opening it for him with a polite but not insincere smile. “This has been… interesting.”

“Yeah,” Alec winced. “Thanks for your help.”

So he also knew the word thanks. Raphael had thought it was scratched out of every dictionary in Idris. “I did it for Magnus,” he answered which for some reason made the man smile. Huh. 

Their goodbyes were as awkward as most of their conversation had been and yet once Raphael was again on the streets, headed towards the Hunter’s Moon, he could not find it within him to regret having stopped by at Magnus’. If nothing else, he had helped to ensure Magnus would have a lovely dinner. And knowing that the heart of the man he loved as a father was in good hands made him breathe easier. Magnus deserved that. Someone who spent an afternoon on him just because. Yeah, his opinion on Alec Lightwood may have shifted a bit. Only a bit though. After all, the man was still a Nephilim.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's all. I hope you enjoyed it and that Alec wasn't too much out of character. Any thoughts you have will be more than welcome (I live live for comments) and every kudo you leave makes me smile. Also I am in tumblr like Airuna if anyone wants to talk about shadowhunters.


End file.
